Background
Horatio Greenough was born on September 6, 1805 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Son of David and Betsey (Bender) Greenough.
Horatio Greenough was born on September 6, 1805 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Son of David and Betsey (Bender) Greenough.
Horatio Greenough graduated from Harvard, 1825. He studied art, Rome, Italy, 1825-1826.
From an early age, Greenough was drawn to the plastic arts, and while still an adolescent he received instruction from carvers, architects, and sculptors in Boston. Greenough was urged to study art by his wealthy family and by the painter Washington Allston. After graduating from Harvard University, he went to Italy for two years, starting in 1825. There he continued his art studies with a regimen that included visits to museums and galleries and life-drawing lessons at the French Academy at the Villa Medici. When he became ill he returned to the United States and, after recuperating, traveled to the nation’s capital to seek portrait commissions. There he met Robert Gilmor, Jr., a wealthy Baltimore merchant, who would become an important patron for Greenough. Buoyed by his successes in Washington, D.C., the artist made a second trip to Italy in 1828, and this time he remained there until a year before his death.
Horatio Greenough was married to Louisa Gore.